erally-held conviction that they alonewere the Church of Christ -- Christ's people on the earth. They viewed the "denominationalChurches" (any church outside of the Churches of Christ) as schismatic and heretical.While not all members of the Churches of Christ felt this way, many members of theChurch of Christ were convinced that people in these churches were unsaved and going tohell, and it was not uncommon to hear this stated from the pulpit.This absolutism spilled over into their beliefs on every imaginable theological issue. Mostmembers had very little sense of proportion -- any little detail of doctrine (like the ruleagainst using musical instruments during worship) was as important as a fundamental ofthe Christian Faith (like believing in the Resurrection of Christ).This meant, of course, that they were usually isolated from other believers, new thoughts,and new ideas. The isolation was far from total -- many members read C.S. Lewis andother Christian writers of the twentieth century, and some were more open than others totalking with people from other churches about issues of faith. But outside influencesseeped in more slowly than in most churches, feeding the conservatism already typical ofthis group.The beliefs and terminology of the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ are stillvery much in evidence in the ICC. The ICC uses the term "Restoration" frequently, andsees itself as God's movement to restore true "New Testament Christianity", anotherRestoration Movement term. It believes that denominations and sects are sinful, and mustbe rejected. It teaches that creeds and statements of faith are divisive and should berejected in favor of "the Bible only." Its basic theology and hermeneutic (method ofinterpreting Scripture) are also derived from and remain similar to that of the Church ofChrist in most ways.The Boston and Crossroads movements are earlier incarnations of the ICC, and werenamed after the Churches of Christ whe...
